Daily KOS Smear Machine Rebutted: Palin's Daughter Was NOT the Mother

The Daily KOS is a vicious, leftwing site that often expressed unabashed hatred for Republicans and conservatives. However, it outdid itself yesterday when it posted a false report claiming that "Sarah Palin is Not the Mother." The Kos diarist (ArcXIX) claimed that Palin's 17 year old daughter was the actual mother of the Down's Syndrome child, Trig Palin. They offered this "proof":

1. Photographs of Sarah Palin taken late in her pregnancy show no sign of the abdominal bump that indicates pregnancy.

2. A Photograph of Palin's daughter allegedly taken in March of this year shows the daughter with a bump, or slightly swollen belly.

The facts are as follows:

1. Photographs of Palin supplied by the Daily KOS show Palin wearing heavy coats or in an obstructed view of her abdomen. Other photographs, such as this one from ABC News, show her in profile on February 10, 2008 and her swollen abdomen is noticeable.

2. A science teacher named Elizabeth Eubanks wrote of meeting Sarah Palin and her daughter Piper in the Fairbanks airport in March 2008, and noticed that Sarah Palin was indeed pregnant. Eubanks wrote of the encounter on April 29, 2008:

There were several of us Polar TRECers waiting in the Fairbanks, AK airport
to catch our planes home. We were chatting about all we had learned when Kristen
Timm, ARCUS administrator said “ Look, there is the Hottest Governor in the
United States” as she has been publicly deemed by media and fans. Of course
I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her
pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote.

3. Palin appeared before the Hoover Institution Board on Feb 26, 2008 to discuss the Alaskan gas pipeline. A photograph of her behind the lectern shows clear evidence of her pregnancy.
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4. The photo of Bristol Palin that the Daily Kos claims shows her pregnant does not prove any such thing. Palin's baby was born on April 18, so the daughter would have to be 8 months pregnant in the photograph. The "bump" in the photo, however, is much smaller than that. It is only a slight midriff bulge. See top photo.

It turns out that the Daily Kos photo was not from March 2008, but was in fact taken in 2006 by the Daily Anchorage News. Trig was conceived in the summer of 2007. If you count 9 months backward from April 2008 he would have been conceived in July or August 2007. Maybe Bristol just needs to lay off the sweets. In any case, she could not have been pregnant with Trig whether the photo date was 2006 or 2008.

Another photo taken by a private individual shows Sarah Palin obviously pregnant with Trig late in the pregnancy in 2008. It is the second photo from the top.
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Conclusions: the photographic evidence and personal account of Elizabeth Eubanks appears conclusive. Sarah Palin was pregnant with Trig and is his mother.

Politico's Undisclosed Bias Comes to Light Re: Sarah Palin

The Politico reports, “Presidential scholars say [Sarah Palin] appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.”

The "presidential scholars" however, are not objective; their "scholarliness" is nothing more than Democratic partisanship. Nevertheless, a lot of blogs and websites have quoted the above statement as if it were the unvarnished truth.

The McCain campaign looked into the charge and tells us who these "scholars" are:

After reading this article, the McCain campaign issued the following statement: “The authors quote four scholars attacking Gov. Palin’s fitness for the office of vice president. Among them, David Kennedy is a maxed-out Obama donor, Joel Goldstein is also an Obama donor, and Doris Kearns Goodwin has donated exclusively to Democrats this cycle. Finally, Matthew Dallek is a former speech writer for Dick Gephardt. This is not a story about scholars questioning Gov. Palin’s credentials so much as partisan Democrats who would find a reason to disqualify or discount any nominee put forward by Sen. McCain.”

In other words, Politico's article and "scholars" are a bunch of crap.

Hat tip: Protein Wisdom and Patterico's Pontifications

New York Times on the Palin "Ethics Investigation"

The New York Times has a story on the ethics investigation of Governor Sarah Palin. It is surprisingly factual and seeminly unbiased. The Times states:

An independent investigator appointed by a panel of state legislators earlier this month is looking into whether Ms. Palin dismissed a top law enforcement official in her administration because he failed to fire a state trooper, Mike Wooten, who went through a messy divorce with Ms. Palin’s sister.

Mr. Monegan told the Anchorage Daily News that Mr. Palin showed him some of the findings of a private investigator the family had hired and accused him of variety of misdeeds, including drunk driving and child abuse.

Mr. Palin told the newspaper he feared for his wife’s safety and said that Mr. Wooten had made threats against her and her family.

As part of efforts to demonstrate she welcomed the inquiry, Ms. Palin asked the state’s attorney general to look into the allegations as well.

Note that the article makes it clear that the Palin family feared Trooper Michael Wooten because he had threatened the family, and that Palin herself requested the ethics investigation.

Read it all at this link.

There's not much to this story that could be honestly used against Sarah Palin. She fired the public safety commissioner (Wooten's boss) in July and replaced him with a new commissioner. However, the new commissioner has not fired Michael Wooten who still has his job. If Wooten was the reason for the firing, then nothing much was accomplished by it.

Furthermore, as this article from the Anchorage Daily News points out, Palin was well within her purview to replace the commissioner and had non-Wooten related reasons for so doing.

There isn't much to the story, but that doesn't mean the Democrats won't capitalize on it and, as MSNBC is fond of doing, emphasize every news story about Palin with "Palin is under an ethics investigation." Such headlines immediately implant in the subconscious images of backroom deals, kickbacks and corruption, none of which applies to the actual facts.

As the unethical writer at Democratic Underground noted: "The modern laws of media hype and political warfare have a useful tenet: Repeat ANYTHING or raise false concern over ANYTHING and it is likely to be planted in the conscious/subconscious of many voters."

That, of course, is exactly what MSNBC and much of the mainstream media hope to accomplish.

Hurricane Gustav Disrupts Republican Convention

Bad news. Due to the advance of Hurricane Gustav towards New Orleans and nearby localities, the Republican National Convention will not unfold as planned. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney will not speak on Monday as scheduled. They will be monitoring Gustav and relief effots. John McCain may not appear either and may give his acceptance speech to the convention from an offsite location.

The convention has been heavily scaled back for Monday's opening ceremonies, from 7 hours to 2 and a half hours. McCain is no doubt trying to position himself as an activist future President by giving up political advantage to monitor Gustav and its destruction. Will he receive more bounce from that than from a fully operational convention? Who knows?

In any case, Democrats might well be thanking God for intervening on their behalf -- assuming that they believe He exists at all.

Liberal San Francisco Chronicle Spins Arrest of Anarchists in St. Paul

TwinCities.com has a breaking story of anarchists arrested in St. Paul, Minnesota, who were planning to disrupt the Republican National Convention (hat tip: Atlas Shrugs). The police issued a statement as to the riot equipment found.

The statement said the items found in the searches included:

Materials to create "sleeping dragons" (PVC pipe, chicken wire, duct tape), which is when protesters lock themselves together
Large amounts of urine, including three to five gallon buckets of urine
Wrist rockets (high-powered slingshots)
A machete, hatchet and several throwing knives
a gas mask and filter
Empty glass bottles
Rags
Flammable liquids
Homemade caltrops (devises used to disable buses in roads)
Metal pipes
Axes
Bolt cutters
Sledge hammers
Rapelling equipment
Kryptonite locks
Empty plastic buckets cut and made into shields
Material for protective padding
An Army helmet.

The five people being held at the Hennepin County jail are under arrest on suspicion of conspiracy to riot, conspiracy to commit civil disorder and conspiracy to damage property.

Photographs of seized material also include Ninja foot spikes, Smoke in the Can, several buckets of human unine, a published venue of convention disruption and various anarchist literature.

The leftwing San Francisco Chronicle, however, has omitted any mention of the above and has spun the story as an RNC plot to disrupt legitimate dissent. An article posted at SF Gate, the Chronicle's online arm, quotes "peaceful protestors" as follows:

I think (Friday night's raid) was a scare tactic to not go to the big demonstration Monday," said Monica Trinidad, a 22-year-old University of Illinois at Chicago student who was handcuffed outside the center Friday night as she was returning to see what was going on. "But I don't think it's going to work."

Hal Muskat, a 61-year-old San Franciscan and member of Veterans for Peace, said the arrests might attract even more protesters. "It was a tactic to try and take out the leaders," he said. "I know some people don't like to go out in the streets. But when anybody within a 12-hour drive hears about what's going on here, they're going to want to be here with us on Monday."

The San Francisco Chronicle's propaganda piece, of course, does not mention the riot gear, weapons and published disruption agenda noted above. It then ends with the above advertisement for more radicals to join the war on America.

Photo above right: Manuals for anarchy were among the materials seized in the raids. Source: St. Paul Police Department

Democratic Underground Encourages Smear of Palin's Baby

From Atlas Shrugs, we have notice that a writer at the Democratic Underground, a radical Democrat website, has urged Democrats to participate in a smear campaign against Sarah Palin, the Vice Presidential running mate to John McCain. The smear claims that Palin's Down Syndrome infant was actually borne by Palin's teenage daughter and that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up the scandal. It is probably not coincidental that this same scenario was a plot in the television series "Desperate Housewives." Now it is a plot for "Desperate Democrats."

The Democrat writer wrote:

NoodleyAppendage (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-30-08 10:26
122. What many here don't understand. It doesn't matter if it's true or not. RUMOR IS TRUTH.

The modern laws of media hype and political warfare have a useful tenet:
Repeat ANYTHING or raise false concern over ANYTHING and it is likely to be planted in the conscious/subconscious of many voters.

If people start to think that there might be something fishy with Palin's last kid (if hers), then that's FINE. One more doubt (whether tied to reality or not) is another hesitation at the ballot box.

GET WITH THE PROGRAM PEOPLE. The "rising above it" bullshit has served us so well in the past, hasn't it?

If you have problems with the story, then STFU and get out of the way of Dems who are engaged in MODERN POLITICAL WARFARE. Go tend your garden or some other pedestrian task, because the "concern trolls" are not helping shape the message.

The post encourages the spread of the false and filthy rumor started by a writer at the Daily Kos, another leftist site, that Palin's Downs Syndrome infant was really the daughter's baby, that Palin faked her pregnancy to hide the daughter's out of wedlock condition. There is no concern for the psychological damage such a rumor might do to Palin's innocent, 16 year old daughter. For that reason alone, the Palin family should SUE THE BALLS OFF of any smear-mongers who propagate this libel.

It is really disgusting what the lowlifes of the left will resort to in order to win an election. Here we have a Democrat openly urging others to spread the rumor, even though false, in order to slander the Palin family and suppress voter support for the Republican ticket.

Atlas gave the link to the Democratic Underground where the message was posted. I checked it and found that the post had already been removed.

SPREAD THE WORD about the rotten, evil politics of the Democrat Left. Let the voting public know what they are voting for when they vote for Democrats.

A Photo of the Young Sarah Palin - Colorized!

This photograph of a young Sarah Palin is being seen all over the web. It is in black and white, but I colorized it using Photoshop. Enjoy and use as you see fit.

The original black and white photo is below for comparison. Impressed? You certainly should be. :)

Okay, okay, I had to edit her hair a bit, but colorized or not colorized, the lady's a fox.

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Use either image as you see fit.

Sarah Palin: The Mudslinging Begins

Donald Douglas at American Power has run a couple of good articles on the Left's plan of attack against Sarah Palin. They will (1) claim she has no relevant experience and therefore isn't qualified to be "a heartbeat" away from the Presidency and (2) she was involved in some kind of "troopergate" scandal. That's what they've got so far.

The "lack of experience" argument is laughable considering the fact that the Dem's Presidential candidate is Barack Obama, who has less experience and inferior experience to that of Palin. Palin's experience is that of an executive; Obama's is not. Obama is running for President; Palin is not. She's running for Vice President.

The "troopergate" argument is so bogus that those who make it are the moral equivalent of liars. The Left states that Palin misused her position as Governor to fire the head of the Alaskan State Troopers for refusing to fire her former brother-in-law from his state job. Allegedly, Palin abused her position as Governor to pursue a personal grudge against the brother-in-law, Wooten. Wooten was not fired and still has his job, though he was suspended for a time for abuses described below.

Palin's former brother-in-law Wooten was an Alaskan State Trooper who was under investigation for misdeeds even before Palin took office. He had tasered his stepson (to show him how tasers work - good thing the kid wasn't curious about guns) and was caught drinking on the job. Finally, when divorce proceedings began, the brother-in-law threatened to shoot Palin's father if he paid for an attorney to represent Palin's sister. The guy was bad news and deserved to be fired, but he wasn't. Palin says it is the Governor's prerogative to fire and hire the head of the State Troopers as she sees fit. MSNBC, the most rabidly pro-Obama news outlet who doesn't hide its bias, is describing Palin as "under an ethics investigation."

The Dems fight extremely dirty and that's to be expected. No doubt the conservative blogosphere will be working overtime for the next two months, disproving many smears, lies and conspiracy theories. That's also to be expected.

Hillary Supporters Loving Palin!

See what they're saying at the Hillary Forum here.

Evangelicals Energized by Selection of Palin for Veep

Breaking News:

Evangelicals energized by McCain-Palin ticket
By ERIC GORSKI – 4 hours ago
Sarah Palin already has energized conservative religious leaders who had fretted that John McCain would pick an abortion rights supporter as his running mate. The Alaska governor was raised in a Pentecostal church and has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be."

Read the whole thing here.

Some newspapers are saying that Palin is an unknown to many voters and they don't know yet what to make of her. However, McCain's political base knows who she is and what she stands for. The result of this is that McCain, who has long been distrusted by the conservative base of the GOP, has undoubtedly enhanced the voter turnout in his favor. With Palin on the ticket, there will be fewer conservatives who opt to sit out the election and that means more votes for McCain.

The Great One (Mark Levin) on Sarah Palin

Mark R. Levin, the contentious champion of conservtive Republicanism, has spoken out on the selection of Sarah Palin as the Veep Select. As usual, "the Great One" is spot on. He writes at the Corner:

In Palin, McCain did not pick a nobody. The more I learn about her, the more I like her. She has been tested in both her private life and government service in ways that give us a sense of who she is, what kind of judgment she has, and what principles motivate her. And part of that judgment includes knowing what you don't know and surrounding yourself with experts who share your objectives. Whomever serves as vice president does so not alone but surrounded by a staff of experts.

We reject Obama because of his poor judgment, which we glean from his experiences — his public and private record, bad associations, dissembling, radical principles, and miserable legislative decisions.

Levin makes a great point. "Experience" isn't as important as judgment and political philosophy. After all, how many presidential candidates have presidential experience? None.

Someone with the right ideas is what I want in office. Someone who believes in America, believes in capitalism as the horn of plenty that it is, who believes in business unfettered by high taxes and governmental red tape as the sure path to prosperity, who believes in the importance of energy independence, miltary preparedness in a hostile world, individual liberty, individual responsibility and self-sufficiency.

If international experience trumps all other considerations then we ought be electing Vladimir Putin for President. He has all kinds of it.

McCain's Brilliant VP Pick: Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska

The conservative community is ecstatic over John McCain's brilliant pick for his Vice Presidential running mate. It's Sarah Palin, an authentic, accomplished conservative and the Governor of Alaska. Watch the videos of Palin's announcement and acceptance speech.

Part 1


Part 2


Part3


Part 4

Michelle Malkin Features Another Stogie Photoshop

Michelle Malkin has used my most recent Photoshop, the one below of Barack Obama as Julius Caesar. See it on Michelle's blog at this link. The title of her article that features the Photoshop is called "He Cometh; the Money Tree Shaketh."

It took me 15 minutes to create this Photoshop. Funny, some of my easiest to make work has appeared on Michelle Malkin's site. It doesn't always take a lot of effort to produce an effective cartoon.

I'll talk more about this on Blog Talk Radio tomorrow. See previous post for link and time.

Stogie Appears on Blog Talk Radio: The Gathering Storm Radio Show

I will be be on the Gathering Storm Blog-Talk Radio Show on Friday, August 29, at noon PST or 3 PM, Eastern Daylight Time. W.C. of the Gathering Storm Blog will interview me and we will be talking about the use of graphics and digital art as ways to augment conservative blogs and further the conservative cause. I will discuss some of the projects I have worked on, where my work has appeared, and other conservative digital artists who are worthy of your attention.

You can listen to the show at this link.

The call-in phone number is (646) 915-9870.

For additional information, see Always On Watch or the Gathering Storm blogs.

Always on Watch will not be present on this show as she is having a cataract operation; we wish her Godspeed and a successful operation.

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Update: I appeared on the show. After playing back the recording, I can see I need to work hard on a better delivery. My speech was choppy, not always well enunciated, and I speak way too fast. If you want to listen, the link to the recording is at this site.

Live Blogging Barack Obama's Big Night

Obama has emerged from his Greek Temple with the ornate columns and has walked to the end of a carpeted runway to the podium. After acknowledging the applause, he finally begins his speech. "With profound gratitude and deep humility" he accepts the nomination. Deep humility in a Greek Temple seems to be an oxymoron. Now he's thanking all his supporters: Hillary, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, blah blah blah. Finally, he acknowledges "our next first lady, Michelle Obama." So far the speech is boring and predictable.

Now he's lambasting "the failed policies of George W. Bush," but as usual, does not say which policies are failures and why they are failures. He says that John McCain will be a third term for George W. Bush -- how unconvincing and unpersuasive. Is that all you got, Barry?

He argues, "John McCain has voted with George W. Bush 90% of the time." Dick Morris today told why this argument is bogus: about 90% of all Congressional votes are unanimous. So you could say that any Democrat also voted with George Bush "90% of the time."
.....
He says the promise of America is that "I am my brother's keeper!" Incredible.

Now he claims that he will CUT taxes on the middle class. But what about all those Bush tax cuts that he voted against making them permanent?
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He claims that he will end America's dependence on the Middle East for oil. Obama's solution for this "oil addiction" is fuel efficiency standards for cars (dictated by the Federal Government), "renewal energy" (what, like windmills and solar cells? Yeah, that'll work) and that he will build more nuclear power plants! That's a new one -- more nuclear power plants is a Republican position that has been steadfastly opposed by the party of Barack Obama. Who's kidding whom, Barry?
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On education, he "will recruit an army of new teachers." Since when has that been the duty of the Federal Government? It's a state prerogative.
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On the duties of the "next commander in chief," he says "that's a debate I am ready to have." Bring it on, Barry. I am looking forward to that.
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He says "we must take out Osama Bin Laden if we have him in our sights." But Bill Clinton had that very opportunity and did not take it. If you want Bin Laden "taken out," it won't be by a pacifistic, timid Democrat. As Obama once said, "Words, just words." Indeed.
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He will "restore our moral standing." Our moral standing is just fine, you idiot, except with those socialist, pacifist nations who believe we must never fight anyone, anywhere for any reason.
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He is now describing the brave military and how he will fund them and equip them and take care of them. That will be a new thing for the Democratic party, who is anti-military and defunds it at every turn. We are supposed to believe that Obama will be a Democrat hawk? Oh please.
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"This election has never been about me, it's about you!" Another boring cliche.

For his final words, he issues a barrage of glittering generalities, "We can't turn back, blah blah blah."

His speech is over, thank God. It was a plethora of boring, meaningless, cliched, hackneyed hollow promises. The Federal Government's mission is to provide your every need, ensure your success in life, right every wrong, tax the stuffings out of the "rich" (also known as entrepreneurs, investors and employers).

If we can't beat this empty suit, we are really pathetic.

Airhead Pelosi closes the meeting officially. What d'ya know, they actually have an American flag on the stage tonight.

Barack Obama Plays Caesar

Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination from a set that resembles an ancient Roman temple in Denver on Thursday night. The set has Roman columns and illustrates Obama's delusions of grandeur.

However, we come to defeat Obama Caesar, not to praise him!

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TOGA! TOGA! TOGA!

Live Blogging the Dem Convention

Unfortunately, I didn't get home in time to watch Bill Clinton's address to the convention.

John Kerry is speaking now, unloading a massive bombast the DNC Convention. Kerry had the audacity to suggest that Obama's cut-and-run policy in Iraq is the same thing as Bush agreeing on a timetable for US withdrawal, now that the war is decisively won. Iraq is now ready to rule and police itself, so U.S. withdrawal makes sense.

Obama's position has always been immediate withdrawal whether the war was won or not, leaving the Iraqis to handle Al Quaeda all on its own, with the probable result of millions dead, and rule of Iraq by terrorists.

Kerry is such a complete and utter demagogue.

Now John Hutson, former Chief Advocate General of the Navy who says he used to be a Republican and who is now a Democrat. He is mouthing all of the same Democrat talking points, saying essentially nothing. He's a walking bumper sticker.

Now another Demo-bobblehead is repeating the same old crap. Persuasive? Hell no. With this weak pablum the Dems are not going to convince undecided voters. What a yawner.

Now the Dems are playing a film about the institution they hate the most, the American military, but the film is pretending that they actually love the military. What a crock.

Now Tom Hanks is speaking in the film, saying sentimental things about soldiers. He is talking about freedom and how it is protected by these "extraordinary Americans." The Dems are trying hard to establish their patriotism, but like so much of their platform, it is false. As a wag once said, "Sincerity is absolutely essential for one's success. If you can fake that, you've got it made." This is what we are seeing tonight.

Now Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, is mouthing the talking points about how Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror, how we should be fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, "the people who attacked us on 9/11." What a dope. We have almost completely wiped out Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which means most of them. It is the Taliban we are fighting in Afghanistan.

The daily tracking poll still shows McCain leading Obama. No bounce for Obama is yet discernible from this convention, and it isn't difficult to see why.

Now Airhead Nancy Pelosi is speaking. It would be harder to imagine a bigger moonbat holding office, let alone being the Majority Speaker. She just asked for a vote to place Joe Biden in nomination as Vice President. The vote was yes. The suspense was really killing me, what a surprise: Biden accepts the nomination.

Biden's son is now telling how, following a car accident that injured the two sons and killed Biden's wife and daughter, Joe Biden stayed in the hospital instead of taking the oath of office for the Senate seat he had just won. The camera cuts to Michelle Obama wiping tears away with a handkerchief. Beau Biden's a handsome young man, probably the best speaker so far. He didn't have to fake his sincerity like the others.

Now Joe Biden steps to the lectern to speak. Biden praises his son and other kids, his wife Jill, and acknowledges Hillary in the audience. He then verbaizes his acceptance of the nomination. He praises Obama, then acknowledges his mother who is in the audience.

Now Biden describes how the middle class is miserable, living in dire straits with high gas prices (though the Dems oppose measures that would reduce those costs), implying that prosperity is provided by the Federal Government. No, Joe, it doesn't.

Now Biden is praising John McCain, saying what a good friend and great American he is, how courageous he is, etc. However, McCain opposes new taxes and has voted with Bush 95% of the time. Now he's lambasting the oil companies, saying McCain doesnt want to tax them more, but give them tax breaks. Ah Joe, if only you understood basic economics -- but if you did, you wouldn't be a Democrat. Obama will free us from the tyranny of foreign oil, but Joe doesn't say how. Obviously, not by drilling for new sources of oil.

Biden is giving a good speech, delivered well and with enthusiasm. His premises are false and his solutions for non-problems predictable. No doubt, though, he will win some voters with the speech, as he is the best speaker so far.

Now his wife Jill takes the microphone and announces "a very special surprise guest." Surprise, surprise, it's Barack Obama. Obama says he is so proud to have Joe Biden on the ticket, then says that "Hillary Clinton rocked the house last night." Rock? No, more like a polka in its excitement factor. Obama talks about tomorrow night in Mile High Stadium when they will "take America back." We'll see about that, Barry. Michelle is grinning with her hands clasped in front of her face. Music is playing. Biden is carrying his grandchild and waving to the crowd.

The day's activities draw to a close. For me, though, there is something missing from this convention. It is conviction, enthusiasm. The Dems seem to be going through the motions; they are not alight with passion for ther cause. Nothing tonight really made me feel fear for the outcome of this election, and nothing really offended me. Nothing in the messages delivered seemed a compelling reason to vote for the Democrats. Maybe that's why I feel no fear or threat from these people.

Now the benediction to close the meeting, by a lady from the Congregation of St. Joseph. It's over, thank God.

Hillary Clinton's Campaign Speech to the DNC

Hillary is giving her speech to the Dem Convention right now. She looks great, even pretty in an orange pastel pantsuit that contrasts nicely with the blue background. However, she seems to be giving another campaign speech for Hillary, not for Barack Obama. She's bragging about her campaign and all the people who supported her.

Her speech is all about how it is the duty of the Federal Government to provide free health care to all citizens - the same old socialist pap.

Now she's talking about the evil Oil Companies who must not be allowed "windfall profits" rather than finding new sources of energy.

She looks great, but she sounds like the same old leftist nonsense.

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Last night someone noticed, and the CNN reporters acknowledged, that the Democratic Convention stage is devoid of any American flags. That's appropriate for a political platform that is decidedly unamerican.

Obama Threatens Lawsuits Over Political Ad

Brian Sussman on KSFO Radio (560 AM - San Francisco) tonight discussed the controversial television ad that has the Obama campaign in a lather. The ad, by AmericanIssuesProject.org, was paid for by a rich conservative who was also involved in the Swift Boat ads that sank John Kerry four years ago.

The ad tells about the history of William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground, a radical Communist group that bombed the U.S. Capitol and police stations during the Vietnam war. Since that time Ayers has said that "we didn't do enough" bombings and that he is proud of his treasonous past. The case against him was dropped for lack of evidence, but Ayers has since admitted his crimes and bragged that he is "guilty as hell and free as a bird."

The ad tell how Barack Obama and Bill Ayers are fast friends. Obama even launched his political campaign from Ayers' home. Why, then, would Barack Obama be close friends with such a man?

Obama is now threatening to sue television stations who run the ad, though some stations are airing it in spite of the threats. Both CNN and Fox News have stated that they will not air the ads.

Obama supporters say the ad is false. It isn't false though -- and that's why Obama is so upset.

As a public service, Saber Point is running the ad in the left sidebar. Enjoy!

Watch Dem Convention Live on Your PC

CNN has a live stream online so you can watch the Dem Convention on your computer. It can be found at this link.

Michelle Obama gave the keynote address and gave an effective speech. She stuck to the topic of her family and didn't mention her husband's radical agenda.

I captured the pic at the right from the CNN broadcast. As you can see, it comes in very clear.

Now the Fun Begins: Dems Open Convention

Professor Donald Douglas over at American Power has some interesting statistics that show Obama is in a very precarious position politically. (How's that for alliteration?) Polls are showing him only tied with McCain, or show McCain holding a statistically insignificant lead. In the past, however, the Democrat candidate was generally leading the Republican by double digits on the eve of the Democrat Convention. With any luck, the Dem convention will be a gala of gaffes, goof-ups and geeks. (More alliteration. I'm on a roll.)

I am sitting here in the backyard, smoking a cigar and listening to the crickets in their grand closing ceremony for the day. They need to learn a new song, however. The one they're singing only has one note, A flat if I'm not mistaken. Chirrrup, Chirrrup, Chirrup. Too much alliteration if you ask me, but no one did. But let me return to my deep, philosophical ponderings.

What will the themes of the Dem Convention be? Lower fuel prices through alternative energy sources: wind power (plenty of that in Denver next week), cow flatulence, windmills mounted on car roofs. Giant hamsters are being bred to run on a wire wheel that attaches to the axels of cars. In Rock and Roll, they call this "playing an air guitar." The guitar doesn't really exist, but the air musician goes through all the motions anyhow. Utterly amazing, people polled in Colorado believe that Obama is more likely to solve the energy crisis than McCain. That's like picking me to win a gold medal in gymnastics at the London Olympics in four years. I'd look darling in tights on the balance beam, but they'd probably complain about me dropping cigar ashes on the mats. At least no one would challenge me for being too young. Stock tip: buy shares in Amalgamated Tire Pressure Gauges.

Then there's the theme of Peace Through Weakness. It's an old Dem core belief. During the Cold War, with the USSR pointing thousands of nuclear warheads in our direction, many Dems thought we should destroy all of our warheads, to give the Soviets a feeling of security so that they would then do the same. It was a concept called "unilateral nuclear disarmament." The famous peace sign is supposed to be the semaphoric representation of the letters N and D (for No Dems -- nah, actually, for "Nuclear Disarmament"). Semiphore refers to the signalling with flags that they do in the Navy. It's kind of like Morse Code, but represented visually. Stupidity has a long and colorful history.

Joe Biden-His-Time once proposed that we give 200 million dollars to Iran, no strings attached, to show them that we are kind, benevolent and not a threat. Great strategy. When they stopped laughing, the Mullahs could then forward the funds to the terrorist groups of their choice to buy more rockets to fire at Israel. Beautiful blondes could accomplish the same thing by walking through Central Park at midnight in a bikini with a neon sign strapped to their back that flashes "Rape Me!" Whenever Biden says something really dumb, he always follows it up with a big, toothy grin. Always smilin', that Joe.

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Taking the Dem logic a step further, the old peace symbol, which is 50 years old this year, could be replaced by a new one. I suggest a series of concentric multicolored circles (see image), to be worn on the backs of all Americans, or perhaps over the heart as a symbol of our sincerity. This new design is a lot prettier than the old semiphore design and essentially means the same thing.

Stogie Art: McCain Country

I spent several hours yesterday learning a 3D graphics program called Bryce. Luckily I found an excellent tutorial online that really helped.

Bryce is designed to create realistic landscapes, including skies, clouds, mountains, terrain, vegetation, etc. I decided to create an Arizona scene just for practice. Here it is - "McCain Country" by Stogie.

The mountain, sky and sandy terrain are all created from Bryce. The weeds were created with Photoshop CS3 using a couple of brushes that come with the program. The cactus, skull and horse were found on the net and inserted into the scene with Photoshop.

The best way to learn any computer program is to have a goal or project to work on -- you have to give yourself a reason to learn it. I could have stopped after creating the mountain and the sandy terrain, but the picture would have been stark and uninteresting. The finishing touches (the cactus, weeds, skull and horse) really bring the scene to life. I learned a lot creating this picture and added to my skill set. Enjoy it and use as you see fit.

Click on the picture to see it full size.

Quote of the Day: Jonah Goldberg on Joe Biden

Jonah Goldberg wrote at the Corner:

I think it is an outright terrible decision on Obama's part to pick Biden. Yes, he helps balance Obama's inexperience on foreign policy, but he also reminds people of it. Yes, Biden could conceivably be effective as an attack dog. But Biden is such a gasbag he makes the Hindenburg look like a sack of rocks.

Well said Jonah.

Major Yawn: Obama Picks Biden for VP

Joe Biden delivers his first speech as the VP Nominee!

Click on image to see it full size.

Barack Obama has picked Joe Biden of Delaware to be his Vice-Presidential running mate. It would be difficult to imagine a more mundane, ordinary and uninspiring choice. Biden has himself tried to run for President several times and never emerged from the anonymous pack of second-stringers.

Joe Biden is an old-line Democrat of Big Labor, Big Government, high taxes and socialism. He is perhaps more famous for his plagiarism than his legislation. In 1987 Biden copied a pro-labor speech by U.K. Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock, using it as his own. He was quickly found out and terribly embarrassed. For me, at least, the very mention of Biden's name conjures up a sappy looking guy with the word "Schmuck" tatooed on his forehead in blazing red letters.

The Democrat convention starts Monday. Drink strong coffee before watching.

McCain Leads Obama by Five Points!

All of the blogosphere's predictions are coming true. After McCain's stellar performance at Saddleback, he has gone ahead of Obama in the polls for the first time, leading him by five percentage points.

Read the story here.

Panic time for the Democrats!

McCain's Story of the Christian Vietnamese Guard Disputed

One of the most effective and inspirational stories told by McCain at Saddleback was about "the Sandal and the Cross." McCain said:

It was Christmas day, we were allowed to stand outside of our cell for a few
minutes, and those days we were not allowed to see or communicate with each
other although we certainly did. And I was stadning outside for my few minutes,
outside my cell. He came walking up. He stood there for a minute and with
his sandal on the dirt in the courtyard he drew a cross and he stood there
and a minute later, he rubbed it out and walked away. For a minute there, there
was just two Christians worshiping together. I'll never forget that moment.

The Left has decided the story is bogus, or at least they will argue that way. A number of leftist commentators are now disputing the story (see here, here and here), even though one of McCain's cell mates has said that McCain told him the same story while they were still POWs at the Hanoi Hilton. McCain also told the story in his book, "Faith of My Fathers."

Some lefties are saying that originally McCain told the story of the guard drawing the cross with his sandal, but at Saddleback said he drew it with his "handle." I didn't hear it that way -- I clearly heard "sandal" during his talk at Saddleback.

Be prepared for the leftist onslaught. If Obama hasn't any such inspirational tales, then it becomes necessary to undermine those of John McCain.

McCain Outshines Obama at Saddleback

There seems to be widespread consensus among liberals and conservatives alike that McCain was the clear winner in the Saddleback Church interviews over the weekend. Obama's answers were dishonest (pretending that his opposition to the Iraq war was his greatest moral challenge when he wasn't even a U.S. Senator at the onset of the war); they were doctrinaire talking points and not sincere, heartfelt answers. McCain, on the other hand, was confident and didn't mince words.

Now, of course, the moobats are claiming that McCain overheard the questions put to Obama so that he was more prepared for the answers in advance; it isn't true, of course, as McCain was enroute to Saddleback at the time Obama was being questioned. McCain was more prepared, as his handlers drilled him on possible questions before the debate, which were not difficult to anticipate, considering the views of the evangelical host. Furthermore, McCain has a lot of experience handling questions of this sort and isn't afraid of negative political fallout as a result of giving frank answers. Obama, on the other hand, knows that his real positions won't play well with the American people and so tries to "nuance" or sidestep politically dangerous questions.

John McCain isn't the perfect candidate for conservatives, but he is a lot closer to what we want than is Obama. As the two candidates are questioned in debate forums, Obama's lack of a teleprompter will continue to show him for what he is: an inexperienced poser with little substance and few intelligent answers to questions about the economy, class warfare, our military preparedness and future responses to evil, aka terrorism.

For Obama, it's all downhill from here. The campaign is taking an interesting turn and it will be fascinating to see how this is reflected in the polls over the coming weeks.

As for me, I am no longer simply voting against Barack Obama. On the strength of John McCain's performance at Saddleback, I will be voting FOR John McCain, a good and honorable man. He won me over.

Watch the Debate online at this link.

Bring on the National Political Conventions!

The Democratic National Convention to nominate the socialist candidate for president begins in a week. Their convention will take place in Denver, Colorado on August 25 - 28. The Republican National Convention follows a week later, taking place in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, and will run from September 1 through September 4.

Both conventions will feature the Three H's: Hype, Hoopla and Hot Air. There will be lots of balloons, red, white and blue, lots of speakers and blah blah blah. At least, when all the confetti has been thrown and our tired ears finally given rest from glowing promises of peace and prosperity if you elect our candidate and the grim prognostications of doom and disaster if you elect theirs, we can finally get down to a real campaign.

Will the candidates resort to negative campaigning? God, I certainly hope so. A little mud wrestling might add some spice to this otherwise dull contest between Methusaleh on the one hand, and Baby-boy on the other. I'd like to know, for example, if McCain will actually fight for energy independence and self-sufficiency, which will be our greatest protection from getting sucked into foreign wars and funding fat Sultans in turbans with our billions in petro-dollars. Will he rid himself of the myth of man made global warming so it can happen? Will he continue to be "a maverick," which is code for "an idiot who can't make up his mind whether he's a liberal or a conservative?"

Four years ago, women at the Democrats' Convention wore t-shirts bragging "I Had an Abortion." Perhaps those women can up the ante this time and actually preserve their aborted fetuses, perhaps by a taxidermist, so they can fasten them to ribbons to wear around their necks like Olympic medals? When it's time for show-and-tell, why not show as well as tell? Let's go, Liberated Womyn, ABORTION PRIDE NOW!

Perhaps they can use the preserved fetuses like sock-puppets, making them talk in high voices, "Hello, I'm so glad my mommy aborted me! Now I won't be around to contribute to global warming and all the other issues that really matter! Vote for Obama if you agree!"

Perhaps the Dems can run ads of McCain in a Klan hood with a burning cross behind him. I can see the copy now: "McCain Thinks Obama is a [the N word]. Don't let this cracker burn his nasty crosses on the lawns of African-Americans NO MORE! Vote for Obama!"

McCain can retaliate by showing Obama taking flight like the Flying Nun as the wind catches those huge head-sails he calls ears. "Do we really want to elect a man who flies like a bird? It would be so embarrassing on windy days. Imagine Obama walking out on the tarmac to shake the hand of some world leader only to suddenly disappear in the sky. He would have to be tethered like a kite, thus adding to his image as 'a light-weight.' Keep things grounded, Vote for McCain!"

Well these suggestions might be a bit over the top, but we'll get there eventually. I mean, whoever thought that men would be marrying other men? What is shocking today is the standard tomorrow. Besides, don't you really find both candidates a bit BORING? Personally, I hope they liven things up by saying what they REALLY THINK of each other.

Yep, a good mud-wrestling match is what we need. One can only hope.

Gallup Daily Tracking Poll: McCain Tied With Obama

The Obamessiah's lead over McCain continues to erode. The latest Gallup Daily Tracking Poll shows both candidates with 44% of the vote- a tie. McCain could put this upstart away with some serious campaigning that addresses serious issues: military preparedness, energy independence, a market-driven medical/health-care sector.

With the resurgence of Russian aggression in the world, perhaps the voting public is beginning to realize how risky it is to elect a pacifist candidate who vows to diminish our military preparedness. Obama's past positions, like not giving medical support to aborted babies who survive the abortion, are also quite unsettling to many. Obama does not have the election "all sewed up" by any means.

Vladimir Putin: Look Into His Eyes and See His Soul

The Glorious Crusader Flag of Georgia

The country of Georgia has the most glorious crusader flag as its national emblem. The large cross in the middle is the Cross of St. George - which is pretty appropriate for a country named Georgia. Here it is for you to enjoy.

University of California Discriminates Against Grads of Christian Schools

Brian Sussman of KSFO Radio (see link in my radio links in left sidebar) had another interesting revelation today. It seems the University of California has denied course credit to some graduates of Christian High Schools (specifically, those of Cavalry Chapel) because their textbooks were "tainted" with Christian references. The Christians have an attorney who has sued the University of California but the case is far from resolved.

The courses in question were entirely substantive, their content academically worthy in every way, except for the fact that they sometimes quoted the Bible. The attorney said, for example, that a book on biology had a scripture quote at the beginning of each chapter, and that was the extent of the religious reference. But the U of C denied credit for the course.

It's hard to deny that the U of C is merely conducting its own version of the culture war by punishing those students who were not totally marinated in leftist ideology as preparation for college. Alas, such outrages are so commonplace nowadays that they no longer shock anyone.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

The world scene is certainly interesting, if not downright frightening. Putin, the old KGB agent, dreams of the days when Russia was the head of the USSR and conquering all the nations in its region. The old goat is an inveterate and unreformable despot, and the world would be better off without him. To see a good summary of what is happening in Georgia, see Rich Lowry's comments at the Corner.

Powerline has posted two notable posts recently, one of President Bush's condemnation of Russia's aggression, and one by our next President John McCain.

On the home front, Republican rebels have kept the House open for continuing speeches and demands for Nancy Pelosi to allow an up or down vote to allow offshore drilling. Pelosi dismissed Congress, turned off the lights and CNN's cameras, and left to promote her new book. Meanwhile, the mainstream media is ignoring the Republican rebellion in the House. So nothing is being done to ensure our longterm independence from foreign oil and gas prices will continue to rise over the longterm until we do so. Never mind all that, Nancy Pelosi, by way of explanation, is that she "is trying to save the planet."

Barack Obama's campaign continues to fascinate: as his true persona becomes more widely known, his election seems increasingly remote. In light of this, Hillary hasn't given up on gaining the Democrat nomination and is pressing for a floor vote at the Democrat National Convention.

I'm looking forward to the convention. It will be interesting to see how the Democrat drama plays out.

No Blogging Today - the Internet Was Down

My internet connection was on the blink today, but it just came back up, in time for bed!

So I have no time to write anything sagacious, witty or insightful. Just enjoy this Photoshop I did for practice: I put a Japanese Zero into my digital ocean scene. The plane is real, the ocean and sky are not. Still, it looks pretty cool if I do say so myself.

It also makes nice Windows wallpaper for your desktop. Click on the image to see it full size.

A Rough Weekend

My faithful pooch died of this morning around 1:30 AM. I think he had a stroke. He was quite old and lived a full life. Nevertheless, the absence of his presence at my feet while blogging or drawing is keenly felt.

I hope to resume full blogging in a day or two.

A Lady Crusader: Avatar for Cassandra

Blogger Always on Watch asked me if I could create an avatar for blogger Cassandra, who will host the KFNX radio show "Voices of Freedom" this coming Thursday. She wanted a lady crusader. I made it and you can see it in her radio ad in the left sidebar. Here's a better image, though, for your enjoyment.

The figure was created in Poser 7, but everything else (hair, crusader clothes, sword, shield) are all from Photoshop CS3.

Click on the image to see it full size.

Cassandra has a blog entitled "Escape from an Arab Marriage" and has a book out by the same title. Apparently she went through such an experience and wants to warn other women away from making the same mistake.

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Update: My son suggested making the hair more wild and wooly, so I did so.

Barack Obama Will Lose the Election

Barack Obama is going to lose the presidential election. How do I know? My gut told me. At this time four years ago my gut was in a panic over John Kerry; Kerry was an airhead of incomparable vacuity, but he was semi-good at faking patriotism and fooled a lot more Americans than is Obama.

Obama's radicalism, complete lack of experience and knowledge of domestic or foreign policy, his shifting positions and opinions, his false statements on a number of subjects, all add up rather quickly: the sum total is a neophyte, a faker, a poser, a pretender who is nowhere near ready to assume the presidency of the United States. If Obama ever does participate in a debate with John McCain, it won't be pretty.

Even if Obama were ready to lead, his current ideas of how to lead are very scary: to turn the USA into a pacificistic, socialist state that is completely dependent on Muslim and third-world nations for its energy. With gas at $4 a gallon, many if not most Americans are taking a dim view of the Luddite philosophy of the modern Democratic Party.

Barack will lose the election and it won't be particularly close.

More Stogie Art!

This graphic is something I've planned to do for some time: create digital art using several graphic programs at once. The image on the left was created using four different graphic programs.

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The lady figure was created in Poser 7; the seascape, sky and clouds background was created with Bryce 6.1; the lady's clothes and hair were created with Photoshop CS; the stony ledge on which the lady stands was created with Xara X Pro; and it was all put together with Xara X Pro to create the final image.

Another Day, Another Graphic

My latest experiment. The figure is supposed to look like she is made of bronze. I think the simulation is not too bad. What do you think?

Sorry boys, I removed certain aspects of her anatomy. No more nips.

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I like the hair. You can make great hair in Photoshop if you can figure out how to make brushes. It is surprisingly easy.

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This week I upgraded three graphic programs: Photoshop, CS to CS3; Poser, from 5 to 7; and today I upgraded Bryce from 5 to 6.1.

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Bryce is also a 3D graphics program; it can make landscapes, incredibly lovely skies with very realistic clouds; seascapes; lightning, and buildings (temples), mountains, trees, etc.

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If I keep at this, I should be able to produce some truly mind-blowing art in a couple of months. Stay tuned.

New Conservative Cartoon Series Debuts "Diversity Lane"

Zack Rawsthorne, a conservative cartoonist, has launched a cartoon series about a liberal family called "Diversity Lane." You can see his toons at his website, www.divesitylane.com.

Here's a recent and appropriate example of his work. Click on the image to see it full size.

Pastorius Hosts "Voices of Freedom" Radio Show This Thursday; Guest is Robert Spencer

Pastorius, a cool and classy guy from Infidel Bloggers' Alliance will host the "Voices of Freedom" radio show this Thursday, August 7th. The show, once again, is broadcast live from Phoenix, Arizona on KFNX Radio, 1100 AM on local dials. Most of us don't live in Phoenix (I did once and don't miss the summer temperatures), but you can listen to the broadcast over the internet.

Pas's guest will be Robert Spencer (see photo at right), a well known scholar of Islam and prolific author on the subject. I've read four of his books, including "Onward Muslim Soldiers," "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam and the Crusades," "The Myth of Islamic Tolerance" and "The Truth About Muhammad, Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion." I found all of them interesting and informative. Spencer runs a well-known website, "Jihad Watch," and he has been the target of harsh criticism from Muslim groups including CAIR. Spencer will make a highly interesting guest and you sure don't want to miss this show.

See Pastorius's radio ad in the left sidebar; please do download it and run it on your own blog and website; help promote the show!

Pas (as I like to call him) also has his own blog, http://www.cuanas.blogspot.com/.

You can access the online stream by clicking on the Pastorius radio ad in the left sidebar. Time for the show is 8:00 PM Pacific Standard Time and 11:00 PM for Eastern Standard Time; I'm not sure what the time is for central states, so please check your local time for the show.

Obama Checks His Tire Pressure

Pamela at Atlas Shrugs was askance at Obama's recent claim that "inflating your tire pressure" and getting regular tune-ups would negate the need for more oil drilling in the United States. She suggested that a tire pressure gauge be Obama's new symbol and advised me to Photoshop something to that effect. Okay, Pamela, you got it! Click on cartoon to see it full size.

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Obama Now Supports Drilling (Yawn)

Barack Obama, who a week or so ago was telling us that the solution to high gas prices was to inflate our tires, now says he will support drilling as part of a "comprehensive plan" to bring down gas prices. But a month or so ago he said he wanted gas prices to be high, though he would have preferred a more gradual increase.

If you don't agree with Obama's positions, wait awhile, they will change. Does this guy believe in anything? Does he have any core beliefs or principles? He seems as changeable as a loose weather vane in a typhoon.

With each passing day it becomes increasingly obvious that, take away the nice suits, the expensive shoes and the hype, and all you have left is a pair of big ears with nothing in between.

Obama 2008: You inflate your tires, he'll inflate his ego, and we'll all pay $5 a gallon.